“Keaton.”
And the sound of it broke me into two separate people: the me of before, and the me of after, who was irrevocably changed.
Even after the afterglow had faded away and Olly had pulled out of me and we were cleaning up both the desk and each other, that word tugged at me.Circled in my head.It went deeper than coming together, further than the physical connection we had shared.
Maybe I was heading right towards heartbreak.
But what I knew now, after hearing him say my name, were two things:
We were heading there together.
And there was no way I was going to stop.
Olly
It was difficult to continue to pretend that Keaton was just my secretary.It was only the fact that we could lock the doors whenever we wanted that kept me together.
“Are you ready for this?”I asked him.
Keaton gave me an excited grin and nodded.I wasn’t sure I believed his enthusiasm.He had never done anything like this before and I had a feeling he never wanted to.
But this was the job.
I reached forward and opened the doors to our box.It was a private space reserved only for employees of The Harvey Agency and our guests.That usually meant sponsors and their families.There were slim pickings today.Not so many people wanted to have themselves publicly aligned with Ridley Angus anymore.
The press had seen the proof that he was drugged and so had the public.It hadn’t made enough of a difference.Everyone was still wary.I could hardly blame them.I would feel the same way myself if Ridley wasn’t my oldest and best client – and utterly innocent.
‘Oldest’ was part of the problem.The real scandal had died down.The imagined one – about how a player of his age could continue to perform to a high standard – had been inflated by the press until itwasreal.
The support in his corner today had to come from us and his family.No one else had taken the free tickets we offered for the game.That was fine.He would have the people who loved him most cheering him on.
And one stressed-out agent and his secretary.
It was strangely quiet inside the box.We all knew what no one was saying: that Ridley had to prove himself down there tonight.
If he didn’t pull off a good game then there were going to be more people than ever calling on him to retire.There had already been think-pieces about the viability of a player who brought more bad attention to the sport than good.No one seemed to care that Ridley hadn’t actually done anythingwrong.It seemed that many outlets were willing to tar and feather him simply for being in a bar – the same one all of his teammates attended.If his performance today proved the comments about his age correct…
It was as good as over.
Keaton reached for a tiny triangular sandwich from the delicately prepared board of refreshments.He offered it to me and I shook my head.I couldn’t eat right now.I could barely think.
I remember the tension of being down there.Playing in front of a crowd like this.The other side’s supporters were all waiting for you to fail and sometimes that was enough even to drown out the support you had.It was hard to keep yourself together in front of the world’s eyes.
I remembered the crunch of my knee that final game and hung my head between my shoulders.I needed to swallow hard to keep down the bile and get myself straight again.
“It’s going to be fine,” Keaton said.He laid a hand on my arm and smiled.At the sound of a set of feet coming our way, he quickly withdrew.
“Well, boss?”Ace said.He seated himself next to me and slung his arms over the back of the chairs on either side of him as if he had not a single care in the world.He must have decided to take up his ticket instead of schmoozing down there with whoever he could find.I took that as a sign of confidence.I couldn’t contemplate the alternative.“We gonna win today?”
“Every day,” I told him without looking around.This was an old game between us.
“It’s going to be fine,” Keaton said again.This time was mostly to himself.I had the feeling he was trying to convince himself that it was true.
The game played out before us quicker than usual.That was how it seemed: the clock had ticked on impossibly far every time I looked up.I couldn’t take my eyes off Ridley for a moment.I was willing him to succeed with everything I had.
This wasn’t just about Brody Driver trying to ruin his reputation by spoiling a contract or Helen Alcori spiking his drink.This was about all the papers that called him too old to play.It was about all the hungry young players who were trying to take his place.It was about every injury that had ever called his future into question.It was about every doubter and every hater who had ever written or said a bad word about him.
It was about securing his legacy.
